Dominican Life on Lotus Lane

We observe Sr. Mary John\’s official feast day on December 27 (because her patron is St. John the Evangelist) but we celebrate her feast day at another time not so close to Christmas! This year the date we chose was June 23, vigil of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist.

We had a really fun filled day, beginning with a festive song and dance in honor of Sr. Mary John.

Sr. Irma plays the drum while Sr. Mary Margaret unrolls the feast day banner! In the background you can see Sr. Mary John greeting the sisters.

We played a variety of fun games in the morning. All of them were centered around finding treasure, so we had two different kinds of scavenger hunts! It was really enjoyable and designed so that everyone could participate in some way. One of the hunts was made a little more complex because each team had to solve a riddle before going to find the item in question. For example: 

It was our statue of the Infant Jesus, of course!

 There were many such fun clues to ordinary things around the house.

Sr. Bernadette Marie, Sr. Irma, and Sr. Mary Rose having a good time!

Grant, we pray, almighty God, 

that we, who glory in the Heart of your beloved Son

and recall the wonders of his love for us, 

may be made worthy to receive 

an overflowing measure of grace 

from that fount of heavenly gifts. 

–Collect for the Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus 

Today is a feast celebrating God\’s love for us, as well as our love for God, expressed through the image of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. The \”heart\” is a symbol which stands for the totality of what God is–a symbol we can perhaps more easily identify with, because trying to wrap your mind around God in all his glory is basically impossible! The Sacred Heart is shown surrounded by flames to indicate the intensity and purity of God\’s love. And the thorns remind us of what Jesus suffered for us, because he loves us so much. Today let\’s try to return that love which God gives us so freely, not only through prayer and worship but also through love for our neighbors.

Corpus Christi is the solemnity when we especially honor the sacred Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, truly present in the Eucharist. It is a special feast for us here at the monastery because we have adoration of the Blessed Sacrament every day–we have a great devotion to this sacred mystery. In honor of this great feast we would like to remember the traditional hymns of Corpus Christi, which were written (the words, not the music) by our own Dominican brother, St. Thomas Aquinas.

St. Thomas had a great devotion to the Blessed Sacrament. Pope Urban IV asked him to compose the Office for what was, in the 13th century, the new feast of Corpus Christi, and the hymns are still sung today (often in shortened versions) by Catholics and Protestants alike. These hymns include the Sequence for the Mass (Lauda, Sion), and several other hymns: Pange, Lingua, Verbum Supernum, and Sacris Solemniis. Many of these hymns are best known for their concluding verses, which are often used at Benediction–like Tantum Ergo and O Salutaris Hostia. And most of us are probably familiar with Panis Angelicus! Today, consider taking a moment to thank God for His continued presence among us in the Blessed Sacrament. Truly the bread of angels has been given to us!

Blesseds Diana and Cecilia with companion receive a blessing from St. Dominic

Blessed Diana d\’Andalo (1200-1236) was converted to a religious way of life by Blessed Reginald, OP, and she confided her desire to become a nun to St. Dominic, who encouraged her and established the monastery of St. Agnes in Bologna, Italy for her. Blessed Cecilia (1204-1290) also became a Dominican nun through the influence of St. Dominic. She entered religious life in Rome, but ended up prioress of St. Agnes in Bologna.

Diana is also remembered for the correspondence between herself and Blessed Jordan of Saxony, OP (the first successor of St. Dominic as head of the Order). Unfortunately, we don\’t have any of Diana\’s letters, but Jordan\’s are wonderful. In one of these he writes to Diana, \”Do you therefore, beloved, more and more flee to [God]; then, no matter what hardship or sorrow may befall you, your heart will be established upon so solid and firm a foundation that it will never be moved. Think often of this and impress it deeply upon your heart, and urge your sisters to do likewise.\” (Letter 46) 

In her old age, Cecilia dictated a series of anecdotes about St. Dominic to another nun in her monastery…these have come down to us as the \”Miracles of St. Dominic\”. In one of these Cecilia gives a description of St. Dominic: \”He was slender and of medium height. His face was handsome and somewhat ruddy. His hair and beard were reddish and his eyes beautiful. From his brow and eyes emanated a kind of radiance which drew everyone to revere and love him. He was always cheerful, except when he was moved to compassion at the sight of someone\’s affliction.\” 

Tradition holds that there was a third Dominican nun honored on this day–Blessed Amata–but she has been dropped from the calendar on the grounds that she probably never existed. That\’s why there are three nuns in the picture above! Anyway, we ask these holy Dominican nuns to intercede for us all today!

It\’s hard to believe it\’s been two years since we started this blog! Thanks to all the many people who helped us get going and help us keep going. And especially thanks to all our readers and followers! We are so grateful to you all for your prayers and support. You are all in our prayers, too!

On this feast of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, we Dominican nuns are encouraged to reach out to and visit with our sisters in the active realm. We can do this primarily through prayer, and we will be offering special prayers for all our active Dominican sisters in the Texas area and throughout the United States and the world today.

Fr. Paul Murray, OP (who gave us a fantastic retreat some years ago) explains beautifully about the Visitation in his book Door into the Sacred: A Meditation on the Hail Mary. He writes: \”To our astonishment, we discover that it is in the poor, in those who need our help, that the Lord is waiting to fill us with the knowledge, the joyful knowledge, that we are loved. And this knowledge is knowledge that heals. If we, who know ourselves to be wounded in some way, make an effort to help others who are suffering, if we \’share our bread with the hungry\’ and try to \’shelter the homeless poor\’ or make a visit to someone in need like Mary, then, according to the prophet Isaiah, not only will we experience enlightenment of some kind, but \'[our] wound will quickly be healed over\’ (Isaiah 58:6-8). And why? Because in those who are most in need of help we will meet Christ himself.\” Sometimes we don\’t know when another person is in need, because their deepest needs are hidden from human eyes. But we can always take time to perform act an act of kindness–and who knows what effect that will have on both of us? Today let\’s try to find out!

Did you receive the Spirit? 

We have the tradition of making a holy card for each sister here at the monastery for Pentecost. Each card has a Pentecost-themed picture on the front and a gift and fruit of the Holy Spirit printed on the back–so for example, maybe Fortitude and Peace, or Piety and Charity, or Fear of the Lord and Joy. Sister makes enough cards for the community, and we each draw one during Office of Readings on Pentecost as we sing \”Veni, Creator Spiritu\”. So the gifts and fruits each sister receives are (in a sense) planned for her by the Holy Spirit, because no one knows which ones she will get! Each sister can then meditate on the special way that these particular gifts and fruits of the Holy Spirit impact her life throughout the year.

Our prayer for you today is that you will receive the blessings of the Spirit in ever greater measure as God pours out his Spirit on us all!